Former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold Confident He Is The ‘Only One’ That Can Defeat Current Champ Israel Adesanya
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is supremely confident in his ability to dethrone current champion Israel Adesanya if he should so get a chance. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Rockhold spoke about how he was the only man who could use effective tactics to make sure Adesanya’s long championship reign comes to an end.
Rockhold is set to make a giant splash in the division with a return fight against former title challenger Paulo Costa. Luke Rockhold has been out of action since 2019, when he was violently knocked out by Jan Blachowicz, who eventually went on to become a champion.
Moreover, Rockhold’s last fight at middleweight was in 2018 so it’s certainly been a fair while since he’s had a major run in the 185-pound division. Despite the long lay-off, Rockhold has no doubt in his ability to produce against ‘The Last Stylebender’.
When talking about how Israel Adesanya could be beaten by him, Luke Rockhold also recognized that Adesanya is a worthy champion. He doesn’t see Izzy’s current opponent Jared Cannonier doing much damage in his title opportunity at UFC 276.
“I think Izzy’s a great champion, I think he’s a good character, I like Izzy. I’m not going to lie. I want to fight him, for sure. I think he wins this fight, I mean, Jared Cannonier throws hard. He could hit a leg in the wrong spot – you never know – or land something wild. But I think Izzy’s range and his dynamicness is going to be too much. Jared can try to take him down, but he doesn’t have enough solid top game to hold him.” [h/t bjpenn.com]
Luke Rockhold continued, “I think I’m the only one that can beat Izzy. Employ the right tactics, and I’ve got that fight.”
Luke Rockhold will be keen to return to the days of his former glory when he was successful in completely shutting down his opponent’s game plan. However, he’ll have to return with his prior form as the champion Israel Adesanya is truly firing on all cylinders.
More UFC news:
Follow our UFC page for more key UFC updates and news
